Partner Success Story

Claratus

We consider White Oak UK to be a valuable member of our panel, their commercial approach to underwriting and excellent support has undoubtedly contributed to our success over the past two years.

Simon Clarke, Director, Claratus Commercial Finance

Background

Claratus Commercial Finance is a finance broker based in London founded by Nick Ray and Simon Clarke. With years in the asset finance industry, they decided to build a finance company that betters serves the needs of SMEs.

With the ability to arrange finance across a broad spectrum of products, including traditional loans, asset and invoice finance, Claratus understand the challenges faced by companies of all sizes when it comes to accessing finance.

The ProblemAs a newly established broker, Claratus were working with a document management company based in Hertfordshire. The client was working on several large projects that required the recruitment of temporary staff. However, due to the scale of the project, the client was unable to cover these costs using their own capital.

A requirement such as recruitment is one that most businesses would assume they would be unable to fund, however Claratus knew it was something that White Oak UK could consider.

The Solution

In 2015, Claratus added White Oak UK to their panel of lenders as they recognised that we could offer a facility that puts commerciality and service at the heart of everything they do.

Claratus were able to provide their client with a £50,000 business loan to cover the cost of the recruitment drive helping to recruit the staff needed to cover the length of the project as well as manage their cash flow. From proposal to payout, the whole process took just 4 days with Claratus expressing delight at being able to assist their client so promptly.

As an White Oak UK approved broker, Claratus also have access to our online broker portal, they can load proposals that go directly into our credit team thus speeding up the time for a decision. The easy to use system allows Claratus to create new and view active proposals, helping them to access the right information, as and when they need it.

The ResultOver the last 2 years, Claratus has developed a very good understanding of our products. Our rate for risk, tiered underwriting policy for both asset finance and loans, enables us to underwrite anything from a new start through large corporate entities. This approach allows us to fund deals where some other funders may struggle.

Views from the flipside

What our customers say

We could not have been happier. Banks as usual were a nightmare - they took over six weeks to eventually refuse for vague reasons unexplained. White Oak UK were professional, helpful, friendly, and best of all, fast.